Choko

This bushy choko vine is in a pot.  I planted two sprouting choko fruits at the same time, one in this pot and the other in the ground beneath the hakea in my outside garden.  The vine in the outside garden has clambered over the hakea tree and produced fruits.  I have picked three so far and I can see a couple more amongst the leaves.  Choko is not the most exciting vegetable but it is so easy to grow and from stories I have heard, very productive.  With a little bit of imagination you can turn this humble vegetable into whatever takes your fancy - from plain stir-fry to relish.

The two choko fruits in the picture are up high in the hakea tree.  I don't know if they will attract possums and cockatoos.  Being hidden amongst the leaves may help.  I also pick the tender shoots to add to stir-fry and that encourages growth.

These three chokos are still young and tender, unlike those found in the shops, which can be so mature that they are already sprouting.  I hope to see more fruits forming to be ready for picking over the winter months.

The camellia

From now till spring we will be seeing a succession of camellias flowering and I just love them.  I have three camellias in pots because I have not decided where to eventually plant them.  I have this one sitting on the back porch so I can admire the flowers from inside my warm house when it is wet and miserable outside.  The pink does lift the spirit.

This pink is a lighter shade.  I may just leave these plants in their pots and prune them to contain their size.  Even when not in flower the glossy green leaves of the camellia create a lushness in the garden.

White chrysanthemum and feijoa

I rescued this white chrysanthemum from the garden bed where it was looking half dead.  I hurriedly placed the clump in a pot with some compost and forgot about it.  The compost must have helped for I have been rewarded with some flowers which look better in real life.  I will have to look for a spot in the garden to plant it in when it has finished flowering.  In its first season a few years ago it was a splendid bush covered in the white flowers.

At the moment you may find gardens with feijoas left to rot under the trees.  I hope this feijoa bush of mine will grow into a productive tree and I will pick each and everyone of the fruits off the ground.  Feijoas are ready when they drop.  I discovered a few fruits on this bush and will wait to see if they will ripen.  They are not very big and may not have much flesh.